Care Inspectorate Wales is introducing a new rating system for Welsh providers
Care Inspectorate Wales plan to implement a rating system for Care Home and Domicillary Care Providers, akin to CQCs current rating system. Originally, rating regulations were to come into force on April 2024, but further delays were announced on the 12th of October which means published inspection ratings will now be introduced from April 2025 (plenty of time to familiarise yourself with how your service will be rated). In this blog, we will outline the information CIW has provided so far on what their rating system might look like and what your service can do to prepare.
CQC (Care Quality Commission), the regulator for health and social care in England, has a rating system providers are likely already familiar with. When the CQC was formed in October 2008, one of its earliest undertakings included creating a rating system to measure health and social care providers (these regulations came into force in April 2010). Since then, the rating system has undergone several changes – implementing the Fundamental Standards in 2015 and overhauling their assessment process this year.
Likewise, the Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) is introducing their own system for rating Care Home and Domiciliary Care providers. Providers for care homes and domiciliary care will soon be given ratings as the CIW continues to prepare its pilot scheme. Providers need not panic, however, as initial ratings will be ‘silent’ (ratings will not be included within the inspection report and will not be published on the CIW website) as part of a pilot study which has already received several delays.
In January 2023, the CIW published their Interim guidance for Providers on ratings in which they stated:
As mentioned above, this has been delayed to April 2025 and in preparation for the introduction of these regulations, the CIW will carry out a phased approach to ratings:
A system of ‘silent’ ratings for all care home services and domiciliary support services subject to inspection between April 2023 and March 2024.
This phase will also include an independent evaluation from September 2023 until December 2023. Here the CIW will assess the consistency of their practice in applying ratings as well as assessing the impact on service providers and inspection teams. They will publish findings and amendments to their approach and will be asking for feedback (a publish date was not provided).
Publication of ratings for all care home services and domiciliary support services subject to inspection from April 2024.
The planned rating system is very similar to CQC’s:
The CQC rates providers on each of their key questions and quality statements (Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive, Well-led). CIW will similarly rate providers on the core themes of their inspection criteria:
- Well-being
- Care and Support
- Leadership and Management
- Environment
The CIW is yet to disclose any more information after the latest annoucement delaying the implementation of ratings to April 2025; ratings will take a while to come into effect as the aim is to create a rating system that works fairly and consistently across the board. Despite delays, it is important to contemplate the potential risks of this new system and start adapting your service to them. Welsh providers can prepare ahead of time by revisiting the core themes of inspection: Well-being, Care and Support, Leadership & Management and Environment, thinking about how they can ensure they are actively presenting CIW with a balanced picture of the care and support they provide, highlighting evidence of good practice. As the pilot phase for the introduction of ratings has been extended, it would also be beneficial for providers to get involved and enagage with any opportunities to shape CIW’s inspection strategy and provide feedback along the way. The CIW is yet to request feedback but keep an eye out on their announcement page.
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